Mance
by TheCheerfulCynic
Summary: A look into what Mance Rayder's life as a child raised by the night's watch may have been like.


The oldest memory Mance Rayder had was of when he was four namedays old. He sat on Maester Aemon's knee as the maester read him a story book from Castle Black's library.

The story is of dragons and bold knights, but Mance hardly pays attention as he plays with the maester's chain.

"Why do you wear a chain?", Mance asks.

Aemon looked at the boy with a smile, "it shows that I'm a maester. Just like how my brothers wear black to show they're in the watch."

"Like me?", Mance asks as he looks down at his own tiny black outfit that the brothers had managed to sew together from spare bits of clothes for the boy.

"You're not a brother of the nights watch", Aemon said with a smile still on his face.

"Why?"

"You haven't taken the oath."

"Can I do it now?", Mance asks with excitement in his voice.

"No, you are far too young", Aemon tells him.

Mance's face turned down cast at the news.

"One day", Aemon tries to comfort the boy ,"if you still wish to join when you're older you can."

Mance smiles as he hops out of the maester's lap and puffs out his chest as he proudly states, "One day I'll be the best ranger there ever was!"

...

A seven nameday old Mance eats his porridge for breakfast with most of the brothers at castle black.

It seems like every few seconds another man is patting him on the head with a smile on their face.

There are few kids at castle black and the boys that have come north to join usually say he's to young to be friends with them. Despite that Mance never felt lonely thanks to all the attention the older men give him almost constantly.

For every man that hates the wildling boy there are four more who care for him like a son.

As he sticks another spoon full in his mouth something catches his hearing.

"A bear there was, a bear, a bear! All black and brown and covered in hair. The bear! The bear!"

He turned to see a new recruit playing a lute as he sings the song. Mance knows the song well; many of the brothers oeftn sing it together for entertainment when they get bored. Several join in the chorus with the man.

What catches his eye is the the instrument. Mance walks towards the man as he watches him play the lute expertly. His fingers seem to glide over the strings as he sings.

"The bear and the maiden fair!"

Mance waits untill the man has finished before he speaks, "How did you learn to do that?"

The man looked at the boy, "Do what?"

Mance tries to move his fingers over an imaginary lute like the man had done.

"Ah, you mean how to play. I was a bard in another life.", The man's face turned down cast like many of the brothers did when they thought of their lives before, "Course know I suppose it's the steward life me."

"Could you teach me?", Mance asks.

"Of course"

...

When he's twelve he asks Lord Commander Qorgyle himself if can take the oath. Osric Stark had been made Lord commander when he was only ten year old so why shouldn't he be allowed to take the oath?

"Osric Stark was born at Winterfell. He knew the world outside of the gift. You do not understand what you would miss.", Qorgyle says firmly with a sadness in his eyes.

"But-"

"I am the Lord commander and my decision is final!", The Lord commander shouted, ending any further arguement.

"Why do you all hate me!", Mance Shouted with tears n his eyes as he ran out of the Lord commander's chamber.

...

Less than a month after that he his shaken awake at night by one of the black brothers.

As his eyes adjust to the dark he realizes it's Ghent and he's holding a knife.

"Take of your clothes, boy!", He demands in whisper as he holds to knife close to Mance's neck.

"Why?", Mance asks louder than he meant to die to fear.

"Gods dammit!", Ghent growls as he muffles Mance's mouth with his free hand, "Say another bloody word and I'll slit your little throat!"

Ghent began to cut Mance's clothes off himself with the knife, leaving mance exposed in the cold room. Mance tries not to cry as he plays to the old gods and the seven for help.

Why was Ghent doing this? He'd been a brother for less than a year. He was sent here after he'd raped someone and had been chosen to be a builder. For some reason he has always given Mance strange looks and many of the others including Aemon wouldn't let him anywhere near Mance.

Mance watched as Ghent pulled his cock out of his breeches with a hungry look on his face.

Mance couldn't hold back his tears anymore. They poured from his eyes.

"What's going on in there?!", A voice demanded as they banged on the door to Mance's tiny room.

Mance bit as hard as he could into Ghent's hand. His teeth went threw the glove and into his flesh causing Ghent to howl in pain.

What happened next was a like a blur.

Next thing Mance knew, his door was kicked in and three brothers had swords at Ghents neck.

The next day Ghent was beheaded and Mance was summoned to the Lord commander's chamber.

The Lord Commander did not look up from the report he read as he spoke. "I'm sending you away with Alyn No Nose who I have made a wondering crow. You'll see much of the seven kingdoms", he spoke in his 'there will be no arguement' tone, "If when you return you still wish to be a brother of the night's watch, I will grant your wish."

Mance said nothing. He didn't know what to say.

"If your worried about No Nose, don't worry. He's a crow because he raped shapely women, I doubt he'll want a scrawny boy."

Mance still didn't no what to say as he stood there.

"You may leave."

"Th-thank you, lord commander."

...

Alyn No Nose grins as he trots along on his horse along Mance on his own.

"There's Winterfell, the seat of house Stark", Alyn says as they pass the great castle.

"It's so small", Mance said, his voice lined with boredom and disappointment.

What he had heard was the strongest castle in all the North seemed so insignificant in comparison to the might of the wall that Mance had lived under all his life.

...

Don't didn't pick up any recruits as they headed south since it made more since to retrieve them on the return trip instead.

After they left the North They headed east to the Vale.

Mance began to feel warm. Was this what so many the brothers missed so much about the south? The heat?

At first Mance enjoyed it but after many days he missed the cold. His clothes stuck uncomfortable to him and seemed to constantly be sweating.

When they entered the vale they began picking up recruits. They were the usual bunch that chose the wall.

Orphans, bastards, third and forth sons, and criminals. Some seemed scared, others mad, and a few even excited to see the mythical wall and join the ancient order of the Night's watch.

Whenever he spoke with the sons of lords and knights, they talked about their own houses along with their allies and rivals.

They sounded so... Petty.

...

One night as Mance slept he had a strange dream.

It was full of dancing naked women all around him. They seemed to be of every shape and size. He couldn't take his eyes off of the women's chests and rear ends.

When he woke up the neck morning he found a sticky wetness in his pants.

Later that day he told Alyn. The man simply laughed before explaining how Mance was now a man.

"Is this why all the brothers miss women so much and why they sneaooff to the whores in Moles town?", Mance asked.

"Aye", Alyn grinned, "but be careful how you use it or you'll end up like me. You know, since haven't taken the vows how's bout I treat ya to a proper first time. I got some spare coin and there are whores in every village."

Later that night Mance slept with a women. He was nervous and scared but nothing had ever been so amazing in his memory.

Now he understood why brothers were willing to forsake their vows.

...

When they returned to cCstle Black he headed straight for the Lord commander's chamber. He'd thought long and hard as they traveled north back to the wall, his home.

"I wish to take the black."


End file.
